DCF advances legal push for drug-testing welfare applicants

Florida’s Department of Children and
Families furthered its legal push for drug-testing welfare applicants this
week, asking for a federal judge to grant a motion of summary judgment in favor
of the program.

A federal judge put a hold on the
program last year after a University
of Central Florida
student sued the state, calling the law unconstitutional. The judge indicated
that the student, Luis Lebron, had a good chance of winning his case based on the
Fourth Amendment.

The law has not been enforced
since that injunction, but DCF wants a judge to move forward and make a ruling. Gov. Rick Scott has advocated for the practice, as well as drug-testing state workers.

In its motion for summary
judgment, the state argued that drug testing for welfare applicants should be
found legal based on several grounds, including:

Consent to drug test is voluntary,
and applicants are not forced to undergo the urinalysis. The drug test is only
required if people want to receive government benefits.

The state has a “special need” to conduct
the “search,”

Drug use is an impediment to gaining and keeping employment

The reasonable expectations of
privacy are “sharply reduced” due to the fact that this is a government program

You can read the full motion for
summary judgment, which includes other arguments, here: